Electrical assembly



`lune 28, 1955 v. R. HERTERICK ELECTRICAL ASSEMBLY Filed June 3, 1953 n :w So 50a 42,

A la 72 45 'ze 45 3a \NVENTOR. VmcENT \HlaRnwcK9 ATTORNEY,

United States Patent ELECTRICAL ASSEMBLY Vincent R. Herterick, Waltham, Mass., assigner, by

mesne assignments, to United-Carr Fastener Corporanon, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application .lune 3, 1953, Serial No. 359,402

3 Claims. (Cl. 200-159) This invention relates generally to switches and has particular reference to a switch assembly adapted to be operated by a plunger extending therefrom.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved electrical switch which is adapted for use in refrigerators, automobiles, and similar applications where the switch is operated by the opening and closing of a door.

A further object of the invention is to provide a switch of this general type which is so designed as to be rapidly and economically assembled.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is an exploded perspective view of a switch assembly embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of the switch assembly of Fig. l with the switch in the on position;

Fig. 3 is a View in section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a contact arm used in the assembly of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the plunger member of the assembly of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with the switch in the oil position.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a switch assembly 10, which is of the plunger-operated type, to be assembled into a panel 12, to be operated by the opening and closing of a door or the like, a portion of which is shown at 14.

The assembly 10 comprises generally a front housing portion 16, a rear housing portion 18, and an outer shell retaining the front and rear housing portions in assembly. The outer shell 20 is provided with a peripheral series of spring arms 22 at the front end to enable it to be snapped into engagement in a panel opening, and a pair of tabs 24 at the rear end which are bent inwardly into grooves 26 in the rear portion of the housing, thereby retaining the housing portions in assembly.

The front housing portion 16 is provided with an internal cavity 28 which extends longitudinally therethrough to both ends of the housing, a iirst pair of recesses 30 extending longitudinally in opposite portions of the cavity wall, and a second pair of opposing recesses 32 extending longitudinally in the cavity wall between the recesses 30. The recesses 30 and 32 extend to the rear end 34 of the housing portion 16, but terminate in spaced relation to the front end 36 to provide abutments 38 and 40 respectively for a purpose to appear hereinafter.

The rst pair of recesses 30 are each provided with opposing ribs 42 in the opposite recess walls in spaced relation to the bottom of the recess forming inner and outer recess portions 30a and 30b respectively.

The rear housing portion 18 is provided with a cavity 44 in the front end to receive the rear end of the front housing portion and a pair of spaced connector-receiving 2,712,047 Patented June 28, 1955 ICC cavities 46 in the rear end, which are connected to the front cavity 44 by apertures 48. l

The internal mechanism of the switch comprises generally a pair of conductor bars Si), a circuit-completing member 52, and operating plunger 54, and a biasing spring 56.

The conductor bars 50 comprise elongated portions 58 disposed in the outer recess portion 30b and having at one end a neck portion 66 extending inwardly between the ribs with a contact portion 68 extending therefrom into the inner recess portion 30a and being inclined toward the front end of the housing. The ends 70 of the contact portions bear against the abutments 38.

The opposite ends of the Contact arms extend through the apertures 48 of the rear housing and into the connector-receiving cavities 46, and are provided with shoulders 72 to receive a shouldered connector 74 in snapping engagement.

The circuit-completing member S2 comprises a substantially flat center portion 76, a first pair of oppositely extending tongues 78 disposed in the rst pair of recesses 3i), and a second pair of tongues 80 disposed in the recesses 32. The circuit-completing member 52 is mov able longitudinally in the housing to move the tongues 78 into and out of contact with the contact portions 68. The tongues 78 may be inclined to conform to the inclina tion of the contact portions.

The operating plunger 54 is assembled into the cavity 28 and comprises an operating stud 82 extending from the front end of the front portion of the housing and a pair of laterally extending wing portions 84 disposed inside the housing and projecting into the recesses 32.

The biasing spring 56 is disposed in the cavity 28 between the circuit-completing member and the bottom of the cavity 44 in the front end of the rear housing portion, to bias the plunger 54 into the extended position, so that the switch is normally in the on position. Movement of the plunger inwardly causes the circuit-completing member to move rearwardly breaking the circuit between the contact arms.

One of the advantages of the illustrated switch construction is its ease of assembly.

The plunger, the contact arms, the circuit-completing member and the spring are assembled, in that order, into the cavity in the front housing portion. The shell 20 is then assembled over the front housing portion, and the rear housing portion is then assembled onto the rear of the front housing, so that the rear ends of the contact arms project through the apertures 48 and into the connector cavities 46, and the spring 56 is compressed against the bottom of the cavity 44. The conductor bars 50 are provided with lateral shoulders 86 to abut the bottom of the recess 44 adjacent the apertures 48 so that after the rear portion is assembled, the conductor bars are retained against longitudinal movement.

After the assembly of the rear housing portion, the tabs 24 are bent downwardly into the grooves 26 to retain the housing portions in assembly,

The ribs 42 in the recesses 3), in addition to retaining the conductor bars 50 in assembly also insure that the contact tongues cannot touch the elongated portion of the conductor bars during longitudinal movement thereof.

The second pair of tongues 86, disposed in the recesses 32, assist in guiding and stabilizing the circuit-completing member and eliminates the possibility of errors in assembly since it may be assembled without orienting the tongues into any particular recess.

Although the illustrated embodiment of the switch is of the normally on type, with minor modifications it may be constructed as a normally oli type.

Since certain other obvious modifications may be made in the device without departing from the scope of the El invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A switch mechanism, comprising a housing formed of insulating material, said housing having an internal longitudinally extending cavity, and a pair of longitudinally extending recesses formed in opposing portions of the cavity wall, a pair of longitudinally extending ribs disposed on opposite walls of each recess in spaced relation to the bottom of the recess forming inner and outer recess portions, and a contact arm assembled into each recess, each contact arm comprising an elongated portion disposed in the outer recess portion between the ribs and the bottom of the recess, a neck portion extending between the ribs to the inner recess portion, and a contact portion extending from the neck and being disposed in the inner recess portion, and a circuit-completing member disposed in the cavity and having tongues extending into the inner recess portions, said circuit-completing member being movable longitudinally in the cavity to move said tongues into and out of contact with said contact portions of the arms, said ribs preventing contact between said tongues and the elongated portion of the arms during said longitudinal movement.

2. A switch mechanism as set forth in claim 3 in which said housing has a second pair of longitudinally extending opposing recesses, and has an aperture in one end, and an operating plunger' disposed in said aperture, said operating plunger having laterally extending wing portions disfill posed in said second pair of recesses, and being longitudinally movable in said housing to move said circuitcompleting means,

3. A switch mechanism, comprising a housing formed of insulating material, said housing having a front portion, a rear portion and means retaining said front and rear portions in assembly, said front portion having an internal longitudinally extending cavity opening to the rear end thereof and a pair of longitudinally extending recesses in OPPQSte portions 0f the cavity wall and opening to the rear end thereof, a pair of contact arms having elongated portions disposed in said recesses and having ends projecting from the rear end of the front portion of the housing and inwardly extending contact portions disposed within the housing, circuit-completing means disposed in the cavity and being movable into and out of contact with the contact portions of the arms, said rear portion of the housing having apertures in the front end receiving the projecting ends of said contact arms and apertures in the rear end connecting to said apertures in the front end for receiving a connection for engagement with the contact arms.

References Cited in the iilc of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

